The Oregon Crusaders will present "Mysterious Mountain - A tribute to the music of Alan Hovhaness" on the field in 2003.

The 2003 production, a brainchild of Ron Jones, features the best elements of both works, which dramatically portray the majesty, grandeur and mystic power of the Northwest Mountains -- particularly during the legendary May 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens.

Interestingly, is this is the first time Alan Hovhaness' works have been featured outside their original orchestral setting, and even more specifically written and arranged for performance in the drum corps idiom. With a list of credentials longer than can fit on this page, Jones is definitely up to the task.

The composer Alan Hovhaness possesses somewhat of a cult following within the idols of classical music connoisseurs. His huge, lush, sweeping patterns, and more modern-sounding, percussion-laden works are only matched by the remarkably prolific output of this composer,having completed more than 60 symphonies, 2 ballets, 9 operas and more than 100 chamber pieces to his credit. His total output of compositions is greatly impressive, even more so when one hears that he actually destroyed whole volumes of material. In 1940, Hovhaness burned over a thousand of his works, including several operas and two symphonies, saying he had not been critial enough when writing them. Jones notes that the sum entity of Hovhaness' musicial sytle lends itself perfectly to arrangement in the drum corps arena, "it's a wonder they have not been performed sooner."

No stranger to drum corps, Jones began his marching career with the Bellevue Sentinels (Washington state) from 1966 to 1970. After moving to Oregon in 1970, Ron and his brother David Jones established the original Oregon Crusaders drum corps in the town of West Linn, Ore.

At the tender age of 17, Ron became one of the youngest brass judges in drum corps history. He studied composition and music theory at the college level while still attending high school, further refining his skills at producing charts for the corps.

After college, Ron and his wife moved to Los Angeles, where he began study at the eminent Dick Grove School of Music. Before finishing the year-long course, he was already busy scoring network shows. He has continued writing scores for films, television, and many other areas ever since.

Jones is regarded as a pioneer for his continuous exploration with the use of MIDI (computer-aided digital musical instrumentation), combining this newage music technology amid classic orchestral instrumentation throughout his scores with spectacular results.

Ron's most recent drum corps scores prior to his current work with the Crusaders involved designing and arranging the Troopers 1999 and 2000 scores.

What's amazing in terms of the corps history is the fact the Jones brothers were responsible for the creation and management of the origional organization. David Lauder (Perc. Arr) notes "It's just serendipity these guys are back after this many years helping the corps to grow once again and a real thrill to be working closely with the seasoned pros."

As for Ron Jones he says "the drum corps activity has always had a special place in my heart. Throughout my continued involvement comes the joy of helping promote the activity and the fun of putting a show together for, and alongside, the young people that work so hard to make it happen."

We couldn't agree more.

The Oregon Crusaders organization proudly embraces this distinguished and seasoned drum corps veteran to an already superb staff, with hopes of fielding an ensemble twice the power of last year. With a virtuoso like Ron Jones at the helm, and a dynamite and perfectly suited show concept in the works, the possibilities are endless.

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